The skull of 'Miguelón', one of the most important fossils in the world, already has a neck

Skull number 5 from the Sima de los Huesos, popularly known as 'Miguelón', already has a neck.

On the occasion of International Museum Day, which is celebrated this Wednesday, the Museum of Human Evolution (MEH) in Burgos has presented several original fossils that it has incorporated into its permanent exhibition.

These are the seven cervical vertebrae, that is, the entire cervical spine, and two maxillary premolars from Skull number 5, which is one of the most important fossils in the world and was

.

The new pieces, which come from the Burgos Museum, thus become part of the permanent collection of the MEH.

These fossils

and have been studied and restored ever since.

The process of excavation, cleaning and reconstruction has taken several years.

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If 'Miguelón' was already the best preserved skull in the world of a fossil species found to date, with the incorporation of the cervical vertebrae the importance of the finding is even greater, since

.

In order to exhibit the skull together with the vertebrae, a suitable support has been worked on so that it can be admired by visitors.

The space of the MEH dedicated to the Sima de los Huesos has been completed since the inauguration of the Museum in 2010, as reported by the institution in a press release.

In addition to Skull 5, other original fossils are exhibited -the most complete in the world from the Middle Pleistocene- found in the Sima de los Huesos such as

complete humerus and tibia.

Assembly of the skull vertebrae 5.JAVIER TRUEBAMEH

In 2013, a right foot of a pre-neanderthal from the Sima de los Huesos with an age of half a million years was incorporated, a fact that was a tribute to the Spanish soccer team led by Vicente del Bosque, who won two European Cups and a World Cup.

The foot,

, consists of all the bones of the ankle, heel and instep.

In 2016, 'Skull 4' was incorporated, also from a pre-Neanderthal hominid that was discovered in July 1992 in the Sima de los Huesos along with skulls 5 and 6 and is 430,000 years old.

It is

.

It has a large brain volume for its age and is wide and low-vaulted.

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In addition, it has a bony rim on the orbits or supraorbital torus reminiscent of Neanderthals, later in time.

The Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca is essential for understanding

.

was added to the MEH's permanent exhibition

.

The Sima de los Huesos is, above all, the Sima de los Osos, since over time many bears that hibernated in the Cueva Mayor de Atapuerca fell into it.

Juan Luis Arsuaga, co-director of Atapuerca, poses with the fossilJAVIER TRUEBA /MHB

Thanks to the abundance of fossils of all the skeletal parts, it has been possible to get to know and establish the distinctive features of the species

, the species of bear that lived in the Sierra de Atapuerca in the Middle Pleistocene.

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